"Racism" almost always conjures up visions of white suppression
of non-white peoples. There is a long history of "racism," however, among
"white" peoples toward other "whites" and among "non-white" peoples toward
other "non-whites."

Some Examples of Racism

Some historic "white versus white" racism:

Norse toward anyone not Norse

English toward Danes
and Germans

English toward Welsh,
Scots, Irish

"Lowland" Scots vs.
Highland Scots

The division between
Quebecois and the rest of Canada

There is racism in Iraq
and Syria against ethnic Kurdi, in Pakistan against Tamil, in Indonesia against
ethnic Chinese. In India, there is still conflict between Hindu and Sikh;
in Indonesia, conflicts between Christian and Muslim  in Maluku, Poso,
Mataram, Medan, etc.  have continued for the last 2-1/2 years.

"Racism" refers to discriminatory
practices by the predominantly white social majority against Maoris in New
Zealand, against aborigines in Australia.

In the mid-East, "racism"
defines the treatment of Israel and Israelis by Arabs and Arab states, and
the treatment of Palestinians within Israeli borders, as much or more than
"religion" does.

The current conflict
in Northern Ireland is a complexity of religious, political and emotional
issues. Like conflicts in the Middle East and the Balkans, the violence on
each side is fueled by bitterness over violence by the other. The root of
the conflict goes back to the days of English oppression of the native Irish
 institutionalized racism.

The intolerance of Serbs
toward Albanians in the Balkans made world headlines. Less dramatically publicized
is long-standing racist treatment of the Roma (gypsies) in the Balkans, and
elsewhere in Europe. In the Holocaust of Germany's Final Solution during the
Second World War, Roma were targeted for extermination as viciously as Jews.

Throughout Latin America
and the Caribbean, the descendants of the "conquering" empires  Portugal
and Spain  rank higher socially and economically than descendants of
the indigenous peoples. Latin America also has its own share of racism toward
Blacks.

Basque nationalism is
proudly racist, defining "a pure Basque" as free of any "taint" of Spanish,
Jewish or Arab blood. Sabino de Arana y Giori, founder of the Basque National
Party, even developed a new Basque language purged of all Spanish words.

The Basque racism, in
turn, is a reaction to Spanish racism: the enforcement of one culture, one
language and one people, or as Franco put it, "España, una, grande
y libre."

Africans suffering drought,
famine, plague and war have claimed that racism obstructs U.S. aid, most recently
in the matter of AIDS vaccinations.

Patterns of racism change
over time. In the early days of the U.S., Irish immigrants were heavily discriminated
against. Both World Wars heightened racism toward "Krauts" in the U.S.; and
World War II saw internment of Japanese-American citizens by the U.S. government.
Tibetan exiles fleeing the racism of the Chinese invading Tibet found racist
treatment in many host countries, too. Islamic students in non-Islamic countries
have often experienced racism; it has gotten worse as the actions of Islamic
extremists in the mid-East gain more attention.

What Is Racism?

A more universal definition
of racism is "Prejudice or discrimination by one group toward others perceived
as a different 'race', plus the power to enforce it." Groups may be almost
identical physiologically, yet be divided against each other on the basis
of culture, language, religion, nationality, or any combination of the above.

Racism requires four
elements:

The belief in separate,
definable and recognizable "races."

The belief that one
"race" is superior to others.

Possession of power
by the "superior race" to act against "inferior races" without effective
defense or redress.

Action that is both
arbitrary and harmful.

Prejudice that remains
an attitude can be emotionally painful and demoralizing, but it is not racism
until it is put into action. The actions of individuals, in turn, are harmful
to the degree that they are supported by power. Imagine, for example, that
a Muslim applied to rent an apartment from a Hindu landlord. If the landlord
hates Muslims personally but rents the apartment and treats the tenant on
an equal basis with any other in charging rent, maintaining the apartment,
etc, that is an example of prejudice but not of racism. If the landlord refuses
to rent the apartment to a Muslim, the landlord's action is individual racism,
but can be only a temporary setback if it is not supported by the society.
If, however, the rest of the tenants and neighbors support the landlord's
decision, if no local media find it to be news, if the applicant finds no
official avenue for appeal or redress, that is institutionalized racism.

Roots of Racism

Historically, almost
every group of human beings who managed to cultivate a cultural identity did
so partly by defining themselves as better than any other group, setting sharp
boundaries to how much they would interact with other groups (including intermarriage)
and limits to how much of their resources and power they would share.

Groups that were isolated
by natural borders  like the Klingit (Eskimo), native Caribbean tribes,
and Australian aborigines  did not have to develop traditions of hostility
to strangers to protect their tribal identity. Natural obstacles provided
all the hostility to invaders they needed; the people themselves could be
generous and hospitable to the survivors, who often ended up absorbed into
the tribe.

Those with extremely
strong cultural identities  as, for example, Jews and Roma (gypsies)
 have been able to exist within other cultures without behaving with
hostility, although they have often suffered hostilities. This behavior has
changed, however, in the rare times when such a group has found itself in
a position of power. In Moorish Spain and in modern Israel, for example, Jews
have demonstrated that they can be as violent as anyone else in defense of
"cultural identity"  persecuting heretic Jews as well as non-Jews.

Defenders of "racism"
(who seldom call it "racism") have put forward several motivations:

"Racial purity,"
or the maintenance of a cultural identity and status quo.

Some proponents
of "racial purity" maintain that their own "race" is the highest and
best, source of all major advances in civilization, and should therefore
be kept free of contamination by others.

Other proponents
claim that all ethnic groups have their own value, make their own
special contributions to humanity, and therefore should be kept "separate
but equal" for the sake of all.

Control of scarce
resources by a group considered to have the most right to them, and/or
the ability to best use them.

Some proponents
claim a version of "Social Darwinism" in which "to the victor belong
the spoils."

Other proponents
argue the "White Man's Burden." Non-white races do not have the ability
to use power or resources responsibly. They must be controlled, resources
dealt out to them, as they are "educated" and "civilized." When they
have learned to thoroughly emulate white culture, they may share the
benefits of it.

Self-protection.
"They outnumber us and if we don't keep them down they'll destroy us."

Revenge (or "justice.")
"They put us down, now the tables are turned."

Opponents analyze
the motivations of racism differently:

Human psychological
needs for:

A scapegoat,
someone to project all evil and all fears onto;

Someone to look
down on, so that no matter how low we feel there's somebody lower;

Certainty that
our own religion, laws and way of life are beyond question.

Perception of scarcity,
in land and resources, and a human tendency to prioritize "our people"
for such resources.

Greed. Using arguments
of racial and cultural superiority to justify appropriating resources
is based not just on true need and fear of scarcity, but more often on
greed for excess.

Power. Racist arguments
are used in both the creation and maintenance of power. Tolerance is seen
as an threat to power.

Justification for
harm we have done to others.

Great Britain's
economic exploitation of its colonies and subject kingdoms (including
Ireland, Scotland and Wales) made it emotionally impossible for them
to accept natives of such places as social equals.

After Blacks
had been enslaved, white society had to continue to practice discrimination
toward Blacks and evolve "scientific" and "religious" arguments in
defense of it.

For white America
to accept Native American culture and citizens as fully equal, it
would have had to accept the full weight of guilt for evils committed
during the conquest of Native America.

Fear of retaliation
for harm done to others.

Culturalization
and identification. In a racist society, children are brought up with
racist assumptions, whether they identify with the "oppressed" or with
the "oppressor."

Whatever the roots of
racism may be, it tends to perpetuate itelf. A group of people are defined
as "lesser" and denied access to resources, then the results of such denial
are used to justify defining them as "lesser."

History of Anti-Racism

While racism has ancient and complex
historical roots, there is also evidence that anti-racism is not solely a
product of "modern enlightenment." Human history does not show every human
group holding itself aloof from every other group in all ways and at all times.
It is, in fact, the ever-shifting pattern of alliances, invasions, migrations,
intermarriages and cross-cultural fusions that makes the whole concept of
scientifically categorized "races" scientifically suspect and, increasingly,
outright rejected. One of the historical high points of racial tolerance was
Moorish Spain, when Jews, Arabs and Spaniards together forged a remarkable
culture. This history is cited by Basque nationalists to justify their own
racism, claiming that Spanish blood is "contaminated" with Jewish and Arab
ancestry, and only the Basque region stayed "pure."

Methods of Anti-Racism

There are several methods used to
reduce racism and promote tolerance. These include education, changing the
attitudes of both "oppressed" and "oppressor"; legal and political change,
enforcing equality until it becomes normative behavior; and change to social
structures believed to be the root causes of racism. All of these methods
include a belief that as more "others" are included in social institutions and
power structures, familiarity itself will erode fear and
stereotypes.

Individual
Change

Some believe that racist behavior
stems from racist attitudes and beliefs that can only be changed on the
individual level, in individual minds and hearts. Tactics here include public
education and changing portrayals of racist minorities in the media, as well as
individuals speaking up against demeaning language, jokes, and use of
stereotypes, as well as racist violence and racial
discrimination.

A corollary to changing the
attitudes and beliefs of racists is changing the attitudes and beliefs of
people who have been targeted by racism, a refusal to accept being demeaned or
discriminated against.

Legal and
Political Change

Others believe that racist
individuals are the product of a racist society; that the legal and political
system must be changed first before social and individual change can follow.
The great civil rights campaign in the U.S. in the 1950's and 60's was an
expression of this.

Root
Causes

Still others search for connecting
causes at the root of racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, agism, religious
intolerance and all other forms of discriminatory behavior, in hopes that
addressing the root causes will create the most social
change.

Economic
Change

One argument proposed by the radical
left is that all social discrimination and oppression is the result of an
exploitative economic system. Any economic system that creates Haves and
Have-Nots will sooner or later create racist justifications for maintaining the
status of the Haves over the Have-Nots.

According to some on the radical
left, the few who exploit the labor and resources of the many now promote
social divisions as a "divide and conquer" strategy. By turning men against
women, Black against White, Christian against Muslim, Arab against Jew, young
against old, etcetera, they disguise the fact that the true battle is
Corporations Against Everybody.

By this argument, a truly socialist
economic system will result in eliminating racism and all other
-isms.

Socialists are not the only ones,
however, who claim that a different economic/social system will eliminate the
evils of racism and other discriminatory practices. Libertarians and the
followers of Ayn Rand have claimed that a "Real Capitalism" would
eliminate such social evils; Democrats and Republicans both claim that a
"Real Democracy" will eliminate racism; the Christian Right claims that
a real (i.e. Christian) social morality will eliminate racism;
communists claim that Real Communism will save us and anarchists claim that
Real Anarchism will; etcetera.

Sin and
Salvation

A similar argument says that all
these -isms, like all other social evils, are the result of humankind's sinful
nature. The only cure is the salvation of humanity and the establishment of a
society based on religious virtue and/or under religious rule. Christians argue
for Christianity as the world's salvation, Muslims argue for Islam, and so
on.

Psychological
Healing

Those who believe that all
discriminatory -isms are rooted in human psychological insecurities believe the
way to eliminate all of them is to focus on raising emotionally healthy and
secure individuals with high self-esteem who don't need to feel superior
to anyone else. For those who are already adults, we should try to understand
them and teach them a more healthy way to deal with their fears and emotional
needs. Attacking "racists" as "the enemy" only compounds the
problem.

Twelve Steps for
Racists

Another approach based on the
psychology of racism follows a parallel to the Twelve Step program pioneered by
AA. After admitting that racism is a powerful force that has made our lives
uncontrollable and that we cannot combat it alone, we must become conscious of
our own moral failings (racist assumptions and behaviors) and the harm we have
done others, and make amends. Most racial conflicts  as between Irish and
English, Arabs and Jews  cannot heal at this point without both
sides acknowledging and apologizing for their own acts.

Behavioral
Therapy

Another argument says that since
human beings try to make their beliefs justify their behavior with at least as
much (or more) energy than they make their behavior conform to their beliefs,
energetically enforcing non-discriminatory behavior on all fronts and making
sure that all individuals are exposed to the widest possible variety of human
beings and cultures will eventually erode all racist and discriminatory
practices and attitudes. This could be called "behavioral therapy for
society."

Non-Cooperation

This is the argument that no
oppression can take place without the cooperation of the oppressed. Non-violent
resistance has fueled social change "from the bottom up" in India and the
United States.

Who
Has the Most Responsibility for Change?

It is a simple fact that whoever has
the most power in a given situation bears the most
responsibility.

The women of Afghanistan are making
a courageous effort to free themselves from Taliban oppression; yet, the
Taliban who are in power in Afghanistan cannot blame the conditions of the
women of Afghanistan on the women themselves, and if a woman of Afghanistan
makes disparaging comments about the men of the Taliban it is not "reverse
sexism." The Taliban have placed themselves in power, therefore they have made
themselves responsible.

Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans
have a right and duty to take their culture, self-esteem and power from
a society that has stolen it. White people in Europe, New Zealand, Australia or
the United States cannot, however, throw off our own responsibility. We have
the advantages of being white in a white culture, whether or not we want or
acknowledge them; we also have the responsibility for either changing or
maintaining "white culture" whether we want or acknowledge
it.

The day that the overwhelming
majority of prisoners in jails or penitentiaries are white, far over their
percentage in the general population; the day that whites are routinely
suspected of crime; the day that Black police officers shoot white suspects and
are routinely exonerated; the day that a minority of whites hold any executive
position, far below their percentage in the general population: then whites can
claim "reverse racism."

My
Ideal Society

Ideal
Economics

Everyone has the right to life,
which includes a right to the necessities of life. Our planet is rich enough
that there is no reason anyone should live in poverty or go hungry. The
resources of the planet and the accumulated knowledge and technology of the
human race are the inheritance of every human being, equally. The right to
education, the right to free choice, the right to create, and the right to be
heard are equally important as the right to food and shelter. The only
limitation on the rights of an individual are the rights of other individuals
 and it is a limitation. No one has the right to increase their
own wealth by paying others less than they need to live on. No one has the
right to suppress the freedom of anyone on any grounds other than a direct
threat to the life and freedom of others; that includes arguments of morality,
religion, or politics.

My vision of an ideal society is one
in which every person has equal access to the resources of society and an equal
voice in making decisions that will affect them, participates fully in social
institutions, has a free choice in what work to do, where and how to live, how
to worship or not to worship, who to marry or not to marry.

Ideal
Culture

I regard every person's difference
as a gift to me. I have learned to appreciate behavior that I considered
"wrong" according to the culture I was raised in: the body language in way
someone sits in their chair, looks in my eyes or away, or stands close to me;
the way they walk or talk or the music they listen to; their religious or
scientific belief system; even the way they perceive "reality." I have also
learned to not consider my own speech, beliefs, dress or behavior "wrong"
because it is different.

It is my hope that in the Ideal
Society everyone will be free to express their own culture, adopt another, fuse
and meld and develop new cultures, without the fear of "losing identity." We
are living organisms. We can be completely different from one year to the next
and still be ourselves. That's being human.